In the field of packaging it is often required to provide consumers with a package comprising multiple primary product containers, such multi-packs are desirable for shipping and distribution and for display of promotional information. For cost and environmental considerations, such cartons or carriers need to be formed from as little material as possible and cause as little wastage in the materials from which they are formed as possible. Another consideration is the strength of the packaging and its suitability for holding and transporting large weights of articles.
It is known to form slot handles in cartons. For example in WO2009/082724 a slot handle for a carton containing cans disposed on their sides is shown. In this and other slot handles, a cut or perforation is made across the carton, in line with the height of a can and positioned close to a gap between adjacent cans. As such, slot handles are typically advantageous because no additional material other than that already present in the carton structure is required to form them. Slot-handles are typically formed in the centre of a carton and a user can typically grasp either edge of a slot for carrying the carton. As such a typical slot-handle is not “handed” and a user does not need to orient the carton in a “correct” way before being able to lift the carton. Slot handles are therefore further advantageous since they are easy to use.
The present invention seeks to provide an improvement in the field of slot handles by providing a slot-handle arrangement that can be formed in an off-centre position within the carton. In such an arrangement a user can hold the carton at an angle, which may optionally offer a more comfortable carrying position. In such an arrangement the stresses imparted into the carton and the stress points that can be created are different dependent upon the way in which the carton is being carried. For the off-centre handle to be robust and strong enough, the present invention provides a stress relief mechanism. In this way a strong off-centre slot-type-handle is provided. Such a handle arrangement may be advantageous for example where there are other features, such as an access opening present on the carton and off-setting the handle is advantageous to avoid interference between the handle and the other features, such as the opening feature.